Love and Brotherhood

Level: Basic

Many people think of Judaism as the religion of cold, harsh laws, to be contrasted with Christianity, the religion of love and brotherhood. This is an unfair characterization of both Judaism and Jewish law. Laws are at the heart of Judaism, but a large part of Jewish law is about love and brotherhood, the relationship between man and his neighbors. Jewish law commands us to eat only kosher food, not to do forbidden work on shabbat, and not to wear wool woven with linen; but it also commands us to love all Jews (and converts in particular), to give aid to the poor and needy, and to do no wrong to anyone in speech or in business. In fact, acts of love and kindness are so much a part of Jewish law that the word "mitzvah" (literally, "commandment") is commonly used to mean any good deed.

The Talmud tells a story of Rabbi Hillel, who lived around the time of Jesus. A pagan came to him saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole of the Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. Hillel replied, "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it".

The "Golden Rule" is not an idea that began with Christianity. It was a fundamental part of the Torah long before Hillel or Jesus. It is a common-sense application of the Torah commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19,18), which Rabbi Akiba described as the essence of the Torah.

The true difference between Judaism and Christianity lies in Hillel's last comment: Go and study it. The Torah is not content to leave love and brotherhood as a general ideal, to be fulfilled as each individual sees fit; it spells out, in intricate detail, how we are meant to show that love.

Jewish law includes within it a blueprint for a just and ethical society, where no one takes from another or harms another or takes advantage of another, but everyone gives to one another and helps one another and protects one another. Again, these are not merely high ideals; the means for fulfilling these ideals are spelled out in the 613 commandments, which are to be put into practice in the real world, not just thought about.

Everyone knows that the Ten Commandments command us not to murder. The full scope of Jewish law goes much farther in requiring us to protect our fellow man. We are commanded not to leave a condition that may cause harm, to construct our homes in ways that will prevent people from being harmed, and to help a person whose life is in danger. These commandments regarding the preservation of life are so important in Judaism that they override all of the ritual observances that people think are the most important part of Judaism.

We are commanded to help those in need, both in physical need and financial need. The Torah commands us to help a neighbor with his burden, and help load or unload his beast, to give money to the poor and needy, and not to turn them away empty handed. See Tzedakah: Charity.

Jewish law forbids us from cheating another or taking advantage of another. Jewish law regarding business ethics and practices is extensive. It regulates conduct between a businessman and his customer (for example, not to use false weights and measures, not to do wrong in buying and selling, not to charge interest) and between a businessman and his employee (to pay wages promptly, to allow a worker in the field to eat from the produce he is harvesting, and not to take produce other than what he can eat while harvesting).

Entire books have been written on the subject of Jewish laws against wronging another person in speech. We are commanded not to tell lies about a person, nor even uncomplimentary things that are true. We are commanded to speak the truth, to fulfill our promises, and not to deceive others. See Speech and Lashon Ha-Ra.

Contrary to what many people think, many of these laws regarding treatment of others apply not only to our treatment of our fellow Jews, but also to our treatment of Gentiles (for example, it is not only forbidden to sell non-kosher meat to a Gentile as if it were kosher, which the Gentile is not commanded to be concerned about; it is even forbidden to sell him ordinary leather shoes as if they were from a kosher slaughtered animal, which even Jews are not commanded to be concerned about). Some of these laws deal with our treatment of animals (for example, first we feed our animals and then we eat). In fact, some of these laws even extend kind treatment to inanimate objects (for example, we are forbidden to toss slices of bread to each other at the dinner table, taking our bread lightly, and are forbidden to destroy fruit trees, even in time of war for use in fighting our enemy). All of this is calculated to make us not only lovers of God, but lovers of the men and the world God made for us.